Stone shower tray

[Keefiedee]

Bought a quadrant stone shower tray from B & Q. Instructions seem a little over the top and the helpline number is unobtainable! Surprise surprise!

The instructions suggest the tray be bedded on a wet mix of 5 to 1 sand and cement. This also sounds a bit OTT to me - is it really necessary, and what is its purpose?

I am fitting the tray raised 4 inches off the chipboard floor to attach the existing waste. The instructions suggest that it is important to have an even loading over the whole of the base of the tray, seeming to indicate that the whole tray should be well supported even as far as the very edges (not easy with a quadrant design). This sounds a bit belt and breeches to me, but I would welcome people's thoughts. I was planning to build a frame of 2 by 4 inch timber and cover it with 2 layers of 12 mm ply overlapping the frame to support the straight edges at least.

I could perhaps also support the quadrant edge as well, but that brings me to my third question - how to fill the curved edge of the tray open to the bathroom? I was thinking of using T & G (which would match the bath panel) but can't work out how to fix it to stay securely in place.

All thoughts gratefully received.

Keith

[Skipweasel]

The "stone" is quite thin and has to be supported across the full area. If you don't - it cracks.

It really isn't that hard to do - I managed.

[Keefiedee]

Further googling has revealed a suggestion of flexible floor tile adhesive instead of a wet mix. Any thoughts?

Keith

PS - how does answer a psot so that it "shows quoted text" - I've never been able to work that out?

[John Williamson]

Depends on what newsreader you're using.

[Skipweasel]

One obvious one - why not just get a small bag of readymix mortar and do what it says? It really isn't hard. What benefit would there be to doing something other than what the instructions say? Tile adhesive would take ages to set and be sticky.

[Cash]

Contact B&Q, they are the ones you have the contract with.

I bedded mine using a 13mm thick, 1:6 [1] sem-dry mix on top of a piece of waterproof 20mm thick plywood fixed to the T&G bathroom floor. It's to ensure that there is an even loading between the floor and shower base to prevent cracking and 'rocking'.

The ply that I fitted was exactly the same size and shape as the shower and the cement bedding was also the same size - that's how I managed to easily support the rather thin edge of the base.

Make the frame the same size as the shower base, ensuring that it is well supported and level and then cut the ply to the same size (there should be a built-in fall in the shower base itself to the waste fitting for the water to drain.

If you make the frame the same size (and shape) as the shower base, you can fix your T&G to this - I fixed skirting around my shower base using screws into the plywood and a bead of No-Nails on the shower base itself. Ingenuity and some careful thought in construction will help.

[1] 1:6 = 1 of cement and 6 of sand.

Cash

[Tim Watts]

Keefiedee ( [e-mail]) wibbled on Monday 07 February 2011 08:42:

If it means bedding the whole tray, not just the edges (as it sounds like from what you said) - then I believe you do really want to do this for the "fat git" reasons mentioned in another post.

I would consider making a WBP ply box to contain the casting, fill that with the requiste mortar then bed the tray to that. The font and side(s) could be poppoed off afterwards to allow tiling if required and the base stays put (and screwed down to the floor joists).

I suspect the tray relies on a min slab underneath it to support it.

Cheers

Tim

[andrew]

Tile adhesive works fine - make sure you use the flexible floor tile stuff though. Sand/cement is cheaper, but tile adhesive is very easy.

Use 18mm ply rather than the 2 layers of 12mm. It will be more rigid, so your frame doesn't need to follow the shape as well. Cut the ply to the same shape as the tray, but about 2 mm smaller (sit the tray on the ply and draw round it, then remove and cut inside the line) Build your frame reasonably close to the edges of the ply, but you won't need to curve it - a couple of inches overhang at some points will be fine with 18mm ply.

To cover the open edge, I'd use the PVC trim window fitters use -

bends easily to follow the shape of the quadrant, and the finish is remarkably similar to the stone tray. Silicone it to the tray with some glue or silicone on the edge of the ply and wherecer your frame comes close enough to the edge. Once the joint is siliconed, it looks like part of the tray.

A

[Keefiedee]

Many thanks guys - your comments have helped a lot with what feels to me rather a daunting task.

Keith